Goderich Young Canada Week Hockey Tournament Gets Underway Next Week

by Bob Montgomery

The Goderich Young Canada Week Hockey Tournament gets underway next week.

The Goderich Lions Club has sponsored its Young Canada Week minor hockey tournament for over 70 years and spokesperson Richard Madge says the March break event is a part of hockey lore and indeed the very culture of the town.

This year's tournament begins at the Maitland Recreation Centre on the morning of Friday, March 8th, with the opening ceremony slated for 7 o’clock that evening. This is the 73rd annual version of the tourney and it will run until March 16, providing nine full days of boy's minor hockey action divided into six divisions.

There will be Local League and Rep. sections in three age groups, Under-13, Under-15 and Under-18, with a total of 44 teams participating. Some of the teams competing will come from Owen Sound, South Muskoka, Upper York, Elmvale, Norwich and Belmont along with teams from most of our local surrounding minor hockey systems.

The Under-13 divisions play on March 8th to the 10th, with the Under-15 teams in action from March 11th to the 13th and the Under-18 entries slated for March 14th to the 16th.

In its days as one of the foremost minor hockey tournaments in Canada, the citizens of the town showed their support for Young Canada Week by wearing hockey sweaters throughout the week. A large variety of jerseys were to be seen in the arena, stores, places of business, and on the streets of town, giving a festive atmosphere to the occasion.

The president of Goderich Minor Hockey, Mike McBride, and the chair of the Lions' Young Canada Week Committee, Mike Alcock, are encouraging the citizens of Goderich to renew this tradition as the town celebrates this year's tournament.

McBride noted "Through a lot of hard work and volunteerism from Goderich Minor Hockey and the Lion's Club, Young Canada Week was brought back to its original one week format a few years ago. This has been met with overwhelming response throughout the hockey community. Registration filled up early again this year, showing the excitement and continuing need for this tournament for our youth in hockey. The residents and businesses of Goderich can be proud knowing this tournament is well received due to their kind hospitality and welcoming attitude. We encourage everyone to wear a hockey jersey throughout the week to show their support for Young Canada Week"

Games are scheduled from 8 am to 8 pm daily and there is no admission charge for those who attend.